By Lori Boyd
I don’t remember what brought me into her hospital room that night, but what I do recall is the look of fear on her face as I approached her bed. Her back, shoulders and neck were rigid, keeping her from relaxing back against the pillow, and her hands grasped the top edge of the sheets that she had drawn up to her chin. She looked like a scared child but the silver hair and tattling lines revealed an age of near ninety. Trying to help calm her, I introduced myself and reassured her that we would be taking good care of her while in the hospital. Since she kept glancing toward the door, I asked if she had family that had come with her to the Emergency Room. At that, I heard a voice come from the far corner. It startled me as I hadn’t seen anyone else in the room when I first entered.
“I’m here,” someone said. I turned and saw an elderly man slowly rise from the couch in the darkness. Hearing his words, the patient sat up straighter and nervously responded, “Who is that?” Wondering the same thing, I asked the man his relationship to the patient. “I’m her husband. We’ve been married 60 years…she knows I’m here,” and then (loud enough for the patient to hear) he said, “I’m always here.” And then the remarkable: the patient eased back into her pillow, her hands loosened their hold on the sheet, and she closed her eyes as relief flooded her body. I say “flooded” because it spilled over to me as I simply stood next to her.
As this woman found comfort in the presence of her life partner, so we can find comfort in the presence of our Life Giver. He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Taking a deeper look at this Scripture, I found that the Greek word used here for forsake is egkataleipo. This word carries the meaning of “to abandon, to desert, to leave helpless, to leave in straits, to leave in a lurch, or let one down.” In the Greek text it is also preceded by three negatives which essentially multiplies the power of the promise, “I will not, I will not, I will not abandon you, desert you, leave you helpless or let you down.” Those are the words of our God, our Heavenly Father, our Savior. He is always with us.
I forget this promise sometimes. Occasionally, my six-year-old son jogs my memory as we drive down the road and he asks, “Mom, is God in the car with us right now?” On this particular night, it was a fearful patient and her loving husband who reminded me that I am never alone and the true peace that can be found in that knowledge.
